With only a few days left until Christmas, it is the perfect time to watch Netflix‘s The Christmas Chronicles for the first — or fifth — time. The special has its share of great references to Kurt Russell, but the movie is also obsessed with another franchise: Star Wars.
Throughout the film, there are a handful of references to Star Wars and cconsidering how Star Wars has become such a fabric of Christmas in the past few years, it’s no surprise.
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Directed by Clay Kaytis, the film has been an instant success for Netflix, and was seen more than 20 million times in its first week since its Nov. 22 release. In the movie, Russell plays Santa Claus, whose sled is broken by two kids — Teddy (Judah Lewis) and Kate (Darby Camp). The two have to help Santa fix his sleigh so he can get back in the air before Christmas Spirit expires.
Scroll on for a look at eight ways The Christmas Chronicles references Star Wars.
Photo credit: Netflix
Ho Ho Yoda?
During the big chase scene on the streets of Chicago, Teddy wants to see Santa use a Jedi Mind Trick on the cops to convince them that they are not the car thieves they are looking for. Unfortunately, despite all these powers Santa has, he cannot use the Force.
“Can’t you just wave your hand and Jedi Mind-Trick the cops?” Teddy asks.
“I’m Santa Claus, Teddy, not Yoda!”
Santa’s Hyperdrive
After they finally fix the sleigh, there is not much time to spread Christmas cheer throughout the world and deliver the gifts. So, Santa has to go as fast as he can through the Western Hemisphere. The only way to do that is through super speed. She might not look like much, but she’s got it where it counts, kid. Santa has a hyperdrive hidden in there somewhere.
Reindeer or Fathiers?
While the effects in The Christmas Chronicles do not look quite as good as Industrial, Light & Magic’s work, the reindeer have a lot in common with Star Wars: The Last Jedi‘s fathiers, the speedy creatures Rose (Kellie Marie Tran) and Finn (John Boyega) ride throughout Canto Bight. In The Christmas Chronicles, Teddy and Kate get to ride the reindeer on the Chicago streets. It all feels a little familiar to Star Wars fans who have seen plenty of big chases.
Elves or Ewoks?
While some might like the elves, they do appear a little creepy and have an attitude. They are just like the Ewoks in Return of the Jedi! They help out our heroes, and without them, there would be no happy ending. Plenty of fans of the film want to see an elves spin-off, but there has been no word on one. However, if you think of Ewoks as elves, you can always check out The Caravan of Courage and The Battle for Endor.
Santa as Obi-Wan
In The Christmas Chronicles, Santa is much more than just someone who gives out the gifts. He is also a teacher and mentor for Teddy, who is always skeptical about the magic of Christmas. In that way, he is just like Obi-Wan Kenobi, who helps Luke Skywalker understand the Force and teaches him to think of others first.
The Theme of Redemption
We’re not saying that Teddy is the Darth Vader of The Christmas Chronicles, but he is the one redeemed in the end. At the beginning of the movie, we meet Teddy as a kid hanging out with the wrong crowd and thinks more of himself than his sister. But as the film goes on, Teddy changes. We knew there was some good in you, Ted. We could feel it. Like Star Wars, The Christmas Chronicles is a story of redemption.
Political Santa
Politics has always been central to Star Wars. After all, we got a whole trilogy about the politics that led to the events in the Original Trilogy. Even in the original films, George Lucas presented us with a group of freedom fighters hoping to topple a dictatorship.
In The Christmas Chronicles, there is also a shocking strain of politics going through it, courtesy of Santa himself! When he is asked to go “ho, ho, ho,” he calls it “Fake News,” echoing President Donald Trump.
Santa also references Chicago’s crime rate in his interrogation with Officer Poveda.
“Christmas Spirit is already down to 31 percent. The longer I stay in here, the lower it’s gonna go, and the lower it goes means people are gonna start acting cranky. Depressed. Angry,” Santa said. “And that’s when bad things start to happen, like a lot more crime. More than you’ve seen in a long time, and we’re in Chicago, for goodness’ sake!”
Han Solo Figure
While Santa is in prison, he needs to prove to Officer Poveda (Martin Roach) that he is actually Santa Claus and not someone just dressed as St. Nick. During the interrogation, he pulls out gifts Poveda asked for throughout his childhood. One of those is a classic Han Solo figure from 1978.
